Toboggan



(N0 Model;)

W. G. SHEPARD.

TOBOGGAN.

Pat9nted Mar. 15, 1887.

UNITE STA'IES PATENT VVEBS'IER G. SHEPARD, OF NEW HAVEN, OONNECTIOUT.

TOBOGGAN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N0. 359.406, dated Man-oh 15, 1887.

Application filed February 3, 1887. Selfial N0. 226,351. (N0 model.)

T0 all wh0m it mcoy con'cern:

Be it known filmt I, W1213s1133 G. SHEPARD, of New Haven, in the eounty of New Havei1 and State 0f Connecbicut, have invented a new Improvemenb in 'I0boggans; and I de hereby declare the following, when haken in eonneetion With aceompanying clrawings, and 'the letoers 0f reference marked thereon, 170 be a fu1l, elear, ancl exact deseription of the same, and which seid dra.wings eonstitute part 0f this speeification, and represenb, in-

Figure 1, a perspective view 0f the toboggen eomplete; Fig. 2, a transverse section;

-Fig. 3, a side view of tl1e forwarcl portion,

illustrating the method 0f securing the forward end of the bottom to the guards; Fig. 4, a transverse seetion direetly in rear 0f the couneetion between tl1e turned-over end and tl1e bottom.

This invention relates t0 an improvement in the vehieles comrnonly ealled toboggans.

In the usual eonsbruetion 0f tl1is dass of vehicles it1 is eomposed 0f a series of flat longitudinal strips of-hard wood, seeured together by several transverse cleats upon the upper sutfaee of the strips, the forward ends of tl1e strips e urved upward to give a runner shape and turned. baekward. On eaeh side is a longitudinal gnard-mil, whieh extends forward beneath the turnecl-over ende. These guarcls are made fast; t-0 the transverse eleets, and the turned-overend is secured t0 ohe guarcl-rail by a flexible hie 0f some kind, usually eord er ehain, whiel1 extends from the said turnedover ends down so the guard-rails. 'Ihe strips Which forn1 the bottom er body of the toboggan present a fla'o plain surfaee upon the under side, so th'at the entire widbh 0f be toboggan is exposed '00 the surfaee over which ib slides, ereabing a very considerable amount of friction, whiel1 tencls t0 impede the progress 0f the toboggan.

The objeet of my invention is '00 reduee the frietion of ehe toboggan in running, and also todirectly eonnecb the guards and turnedover ends, which later improvement greatly sbrengthens the toboggan ancl holds the forward end in proper shape.

Under my improvement thebody of the toboggan is composedof strips 0f thin hard wood, such es usually employecl in the coustruetion of 'toboggans. These sbrips are usually seven in number; bub instead 0f arranging thern all beneath the transverse cleats a, as in the usual eonstruetion, I arrange a p2ub of tl1e strips beneath tl1e cleats and the remainder above, as seen in Fig. 2. I prefer 60 secure the outer sbrips, b b, and tl1e center strip, d, beneath bhe eleat,as seen Fig. 2, and the intermediate strips, ef up0n eael1 side 0f the eenher, I seeure t-o the upper side of the cleats, so that a elear spaee is left upon the under side bebween bhe outer strips and ohe center strip; but atthe fronb, above the bencl, I prefer o0 bring them all into tl1e same plane and 011i;- side the eleat, as Seen in Fig. 3, so thab over the rounded freut end. the strips will appear' fiush with each einher. Thus under this cousbruetion there will be laut three-sevenths the frietion opposed 110 the running of the toboggen filmt there would be with all the seven sbrips fixed 130 the under side 0f the eleats; henee a correspondingly -inereesed veloeity will be attained in tl1e running of my improved toboggan.

In making Ehe bend of the strips ab 'll8 forward end I curve the strips up over-and. backwarcl; bub instead of turning the extreme ends down toward the bottom, I taurn Ehen: upward into a plane substantially parallel Wibh the plane of the bobtom, es seen a1: g. Ihe gua.rds h eure arranged one ab eaeh side, raised from the bottom of the toboggan, es nsual; laut instead 0f running the forward ends 0f the guards straight; and parallel Witl1 tl1e bobtom, 1 eurve the forward ende upward t0 meet the encls of side stsrips, and thenee bend the1n downward and backward, bringing tl1e extreme endsi upon tl1e forward cleab, as Seen in Figs. 1 and 3. 'Ihe ende of tl1e several strips are secured a eleat, k, and this eleab 70 is counectd directly the guards by elips l, as seen in Fig. 3. These clips embraee the guards ab the bend, bub so as 130 leave suffieient freedom for the working of Ehe ends 013 tl1e strips. 'Ihe elips are ma de fron1 metal, 0f a loop-like shape, es seen in Fig. 4, so es o0 slide easily on the guard.

By this eonstruetion a very firxn eonneetion is made between the ends of the sbrips and tl1e guarcls, whieh insures holding 'he sbrips in their proper eurve 0r bend, ancl wioh no 11ability 110 displaeement, es musb always be tl1e ease with the usual flexible eonnection, and

the guards,rising ab the front o0 meet the ends 2. Atoboggan havingits forward end curved 0f the strips, afford a greater side protecbion upward and backward over ehe bottom, a 15 for the garments and the feet than does the guard 0n each side, curved upward a1; its for- Slsraight 10W guard. ward end 130 meet the eurved forwa-rd ond 0f 5 I claim the bolatom, the said guard curved downward l. A toboggan composed of several narrow at its extreme forward end and secu1ed t0 the longitudinal strips, said strips eurved upward bottom, the said turned-over end of tshe body 20 und over ab the forward end t0 give the runsecured by clips directly t0 the guards, subner shape, combined with transverse cleats 110 stantially as described.

10 secure the strips togebher, a porbion 0f the WEBSTER G. SHEPARD.

sbrips secured beneath the cleats und the re- \Vitnesses: mainder of the sbrips above the cleats,substan- FRED C. EARLE, tially as described. J. H. SHUMWAY. 

